Douche apparatus.



Y* PATENTED OCT. 4, 1904.

w. rr. BAUER. DOUCHE APPARATUS.

APPLIOATIONTILED AUG. 17, 1903.

No MODELL UNITED STATES :Patented october 4, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

DOUCHE APPARATUS.`

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 771,600, dated October4, 1904.

' Application filed August 17, 1903. Serial No. 169,763. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may con/cern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J BAUER, of Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Douchen Apparatus, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to improvements in douche apparatus, and isespecially useful for administeringinjections of liquids of differenttemperatures or of different medicinal properties.

The primary object is to suspend two reservoirs one over the other, sothat the liquid in the superimposed reservoir may be discharged into thesubchamber in such quantities as may be desired, which may be controlledby the operator or the person administering the douche, the lowerreservoir being provided with a rectal tube of special construction toenable the liquid medicine or douche to be self-administered withoutinconvenience and without liability of ineffectiveness.

Further objects will appear in the subsequent description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view of myimproved apparatus shown in its operative position ready for use. Fig. 2is a side elevation of the upper reservoir and adjacent end of the lowerreservoir. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the reservoirs.

Similar reference characters indicate correl sponding parts in all theviews.

In carrying out the objects previously stated I provide two reservoirs 1and 2, which are arranged one above the other, as seen in Fig. 1, sothat the lower end of the upper one projects into the upper end of thelower one, the upper reservoir being provided witha suitable bail 3,having its opposite ends secured to ears 4 upon the upper end of thereservoir 1, and its intermediate Vportion is formed with a loop 5,which is engaged by an eye 6, the latter being adapted to be attached toa hook or other support upon the ceiling or side wall of the room inwhich the device is used.

It is thus seen that the upper reservoirl is suspended by means of thebail 3, the ears 4 which are secured to the side walls of the res-Aervoir 2 in proximity to its upper end, so that the lower reservoir issuspended from the upper reservoir through the medium of the ofi'- sets7 links 8, and ears 9. These buckets or reservoirs 1 and 2 aresubstantially identical in construction and are interchangeable and eachconsists of an inverted conicalshell ot suitable material, such asaluminium or equivalent metal, the lower end of each section being drawnin for forming a restricted tapering outlet-opening or valve-seat 10.The bottom walls oi' these reservoirs immediately above the restrictedopenings 10 are inclined upward at l1 from the upper end of said openingto facilitate the entrance 0I' a suitable valve 12, which is employed inthe upper reservoir to regulate the discharge of its contents into thelower reservoir. This valve is provided with an upwardly-projecting stem13, to which is attached one end of a flexible cord or chain 14. Theintermediate portion of this cord or chain is passed over a suitablesheave or pulley 15, which is located above the upper open end of thereservoir 1 and is suspended from the bail 3 through the medium of ayoke 16, the opposite end of the cord being permitted to drop downwardlyat the outside of the buckets or reservoirs, so that its lower end iswithin easy reaching distance of the patient.

As previously intimated, the valved end of the reservoir 1 projects intothe open end of the reservoir 2 to permit the liquid to be dischargedfrom the reservoir 1 into the reservoir 2 without liability of divertingthe flow to the outside of the lower bucket or reservoir, and in orderto further insure the centering oI' the valve in its seat I permit thestem 13 to extend a limited distance beneath the lower end of the valve,so that when the valve is open the extension, as 17, forms a guide tocenter the valve in its downward or closing movement.

'Ihe lower ends or nipples of the reservoirs 1 and 2 are provided withannular beads 18,

IOO

which are adapted to receive one end of a tube 19, although this tube isonly used in connection with the lower reservoir, as seen in Fig. 1,said tube being liexible, and its other end is operatively connected toa rectal tube 20. rI`his rectal tube is of special construction in so'far that it is provided with an enlarged head 21 in proximity to thepoint of connection with the tube 19, said head having ai'orwardly-tapering surface 22, so that when inserted in the orilice itforms a positive clo- -sure to prevent any refiux of the liquid and torender the internal douches more effective.

The essential object of using two reservoirs constructed and arranged inthel manner described is that in some instances it is desired to lirstapply a cold or tepid douche, which may be readily supplied from thereservoir 2, after which it may be desired to gradually increase thetemperature of the liquid flowing from the reservoir 2, in which case ahighlyheated liquid is held in reserve in the reservoir 1 until needed,whereupon the patient simply draws down upon the cord 14 to raise ,thevalve 12 and permit the heated liquid to flow into the reservoir 2 andthence through the tube 19 into the douche-tip 20.

On the other hand, it is sometimes desired to administer dili'erentkinds of medicine in substantially the same operation, in which case onekind is placed in the lower reservoir 2 and the other in the upperreservoir 1, so that the medicine of the lower reservoir may beadministered first and then by operating the valve 12 that in the upperreservoir may be administered. In fact, it will be readily understoodthat this apparatus may be employed for varying' the temperature of thedouche or for diluting or intensifying a medicine discharged from thelower reservoir, and it will be observed that the device is limited inscope to the administration or' liquid douches.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus for administering douches, two reservoirs arrangedone above the other and having valve-openings in their lower ends, abail attached to the upper reservoir for supporting the same, linlsattached to the upper reservoir and connected to support the lowerreservoir, a valve-opening in the upper reservoir, a sheave suspendedfrom the bail and a cord or chain passed over the sheave and having oneend connected to the valve and its other end depending from the sheaveat the outside of the reservoirs in combination with a douche-tipiiexibly connected to the lower end ot' the lower reservoir.

2. In an apparatus for administering douches, a reservoir having acentral tapering valve-opening in its bottom, a bail attached to theupper end of' the reservoir for supporting the same, a valve movable insaid tapering opening and provided with a valve-stem projecting upwardlytherefrom, a sheave suspended from the bail andacable on the sheave andconnected to the valve-stem.

3. An apparatus for administering internal douches comprising areservoir having a downwardly-tapering bottom provided with a centralvalve-opening, a valve movable in the opening, a sheave supported abovethe reservoir and -a cable rendering over the sheave and having one endoperatively connected to the valve.

4. An apparatus for administering internal douches comprising areservoir having a downwardly-tapering bottom provided with a centralvalve-opening, a valve movable in the opening, a sheave supported abovethe reservoir and a cable rendering over the sheave and having one endoperatively connected to the valve, a second reservoir having its upperend inclosing the lower end of the first reservoir and its lower endprovided with a central opening, connections between said reservoirwhereby the lower reservoir is suspended from the upper reservoir, meansto support the upper reservoir and a douche-tip iiexibly connected to.the lower end of the lower reservoir.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 11th day of August,1903.

WILLIAM J. BAUER. Witnesses:

MILDRED M. NoTT, HOWARD P. DENIsoN.

